WHILE addressing mediapersons, the
Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, today said that there is no reliable
estimate of black money inside and outside the country. The Govt has set up a
committee which has involved three leading research institutes for realistic
estimation of black money generation in the economy. The Govt has also set up
another panel which would suggest measures to curb black money
generation.
The
FM said that the Government has formulated a five pronged
strategy which consists of joining the global crusade against ‘black money’;
Creating an appropriate legislative framework; Setting up institutions for
dealing with Illicit Funds; Developing systems for implementation; and Imparting
skills to the manpower for effective action.
Mr
Mukherjee also said that India has completed negotiations
of ten new Tax Information Exchange Agreements with Bahamas, Bermuda, British
Virgin Islands, Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, Jersey, Monaco, Saint Kitts &
Nevis, Argentina and Marshall Islands out of 22 identified
countries/jurisdictions. India has initiated process
of negotiation with 65 countries to broaden the scope of Article concerning
Exchange of Information to specifically allow for exchange of banking
information and information regarding taxpayers not covered by DTAA. As on date,
negotiations have been completed with 10 existing DTAA countries to update this
Article. Agreed texts have been initialed. Thirteen new DTAAs have also been
finalised where the Exchange of Information Article is in line with the
international standards. In short negotiations/renegotiations of DTAAs with 23
countries have been completed.
The
Minister highlighted that the Directorate of International Taxation has
collected taxes of Rs 34,601 crores. The Directorate of Transfer Pricing has
detected mispricing of Rs 33,784 crore, which has prevented shifting of an
equivalent amount of money outside India. Necessary provisions have been made in
the proposed Direct Tax Code to create legislative framework to check illicit
outflows of funds, he added.
|
